The present invention relates generally to a Brewer's yeast composition and most particularly to a Brewer's yeast composition which has been specially processed to synthetically concentrate the GTF (glucose tolerance factor) chromium complex naturally occurring in the yeast.
It has recently been discovered that the presence of chromium as an inorganic salt in food results in an increase in glucose oxidation in a human's biological system, particularly when extracts of Brewer's yeast containing chromium are added While not completely understood, it has been found that if an active GTF material is orally fed to an individual with diabetes, the GTF material will influence the pituitary gland to produce normal amounts of insulin. The relationship of chromium content in food and its effects on glucose oxidation activity are discussed, for example, in Toepfer et al, "Chromium Foods in Relation to Biological Activity" J. Agr. Food Chem. 21, 69 1973). Specifically, this article described the biological activity of various chromium containing foods and the relationship of GTF activity (expressed as a function of increased insulin response with the chromium) to the chromium content.
While Brewer's yeast has been found to naturally contain organic complexes of chromium believed to be GTF active, such complexes are naturally found in such minute quantities to limit, as a practical matter, the effect of such food. For example, in natural concentrations, one must consume almost one-half pound of Brewer's yeast to achieve any GTF activity. The Toepfer article indicates the calculated chromium biological value of Brewer's yeast is less than 45%. While many attempts have been made to concentrate the chromium-content of Brewer's yeast to a commercially viable amount, no one has heretofore been able to achieve a greater concentration, either naturally or synthetically.
Against the foregoing background, it is an object of the present invention to synthetically process Brewer's yeast to produce a more concentrated GTF chromium complex.
It is another object of the present invention to produce a yeast product having an active GTF chromium complex representing over 80% of the chromium present.
It is still another object of the present invention to produce an available chromium complex level over 80% using an economical process.